Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have used this old saying when dealing with important players or transitional periods that occur when a player like Thierry Henry or Eric Cantona decide to tread pastures new.

In most cases football teams move on and, with great leadership find a new hero and within months fans wonder what all the fuss was about.  But the total success of a football club being completely reliant on one man is currently nowhere greater to be seen than at Charlton Athletic, as they are looking relegation to the third tier of English football square in the face.

In July 1991 Alan Curbishley replaced Lenny Lawrence as joint manager with Steve Gritt, of Charlton Athletic.  He took over the role completely four years later.

At the time of becoming manager, Charlton Athletic were a million miles away from the newly formed Premier League.  While their home ground, The Valley, lay derelict and empty, Charlton spent seven years playing ‘home’ games at Crystal Palace and West Ham United between 1985 and 1992.

Under Alan Curbishley’s management and re-structuring of the club, the south-east London team returned to the top flight of English football and surpassed its former glories by cementing its place as a Premiership football team in the late 1990’s.

Charlton Athletic continued to punch above their weight, season after season, and small or less ‘fashionable’ clubs such as Reading and Wigan referred to Charlton as a benchmark to their own plans of sustained Premier League success.

Part of Charlton’s success was due to the stability of the club.  Prior to Curbishley’s arrival Lenny Lawrence had been the Charlton Athletic manager for eleven years (November 1982 – July 1991). Alan Curbishley was the manager from July 1991 to May 2006.

But in the 2005/06 Premier League season, Curbishley gave prior warning that at the end of the season he would be leaving the club and taking a break from football altogether.  The decision was entirely down to him, and in the tradition of the club, the whole process was undertaken in a dignified and respectful manner.  At the time some fans believed Charlton had become stagnant, and it was parting company with alan Curbishley would be a good thing.

It appeared from the outside that Alan Curbishley had quite genuinely done as much as he could for Charlton Athletic and was leaving the football club in a very good position.  So, what happened next can only been described as catastrophic.

Two managers in twenty-four years was followed by three managers in one season. Within months of Curbishley’s departure, the football club had careered out of control into chaos and complete disarray.

Iain Dowie was appointed Curbishley’s successor but was sacked after just twelve league matches; and by Christmas Les Reed had been replaced by ex-West Ham manager Alan Pardew.  Charlton had gone from well-run, low profile ‘family’ club to become a laughing stock. And though Alan Pardew brought some stability back to The Valley, he couldn’t stop them from being relegated at the end of the season.

Charlton fans were hoping for a quick return to the Premier League, but in the following season they finished a disappointing 11th place.

This season Charlton have continued to be less than impressive and have been booed off the pitch on several occassions.

On 22nd November 2008 Charlton Athletic lost 5-2 to Sheffield United at home and with it their third manager in the past two seasons.  The result meant that the club had gone eight successive games without a win and for the first time this season dropped into the relegation zone.

Charlton decided to promote Phil Parkinson as their new manger instead of looking elsewhere, and in doing so appeared to be looking for a return to stabilty.  But this turbulent time at The Valley has ended yet, as they are in serious danger of dropping further down the English football’s pecking order.

Charlton are currently rooted to the bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship, ten points adrift of Southampton.

Furthermore, they are twelve points away from safety.  Things are looking very bad for a team that only a couple of seasons ago were a very safe bet for a top ten finish year after year in the Premiership; and this, rollercoaster ride is quite obviously all down to one man – Alan Curbishley.

The former Colchester United boss has taken over reigns at the Valley on a temporary basis and will be in charge of tonight’s trip to Queens Park Rangers. This will present him with an opportunity to prove his worth as manager of the club to the relevant people at Charlton.

Speaking about the possibility of taking on the role full-time, Phil Parkinson said that he was an ‘ambitious’ person and that he desperately ‘wants to be a manager again’. Therefore, the quickest solution to this would be to impress during the next couple of games and be offered the chance to succeed Alan Pardew.

One thing for sure is that whoever Charlton Athletic appoint, they are going to have a tough task turning things around. The London club have lost ten games already this season and sit inside the relegation zone of the Championship table.

As for Phil Parkinson, he has had a mixed career in management to date. A successful spell at Colchester United was followed by a miserable one at Hull City. Therefore, positive results against QPR and Southampton this week might not even be enough for him to get the job. It is a very crucial appointment for the club, after all.

In terms of other possibilities for the role, I’d like to see the football odds on Alan Curbishley returning to the Valley. He hasn’t had a job since leaving his post at West Ham earlier this season and I’m sure he is very keen to get back into management.

Whether that is back at Charlton where he had so much success in the past, we will have to wait and see. A crucial couple of weeks lie ahead for Charlton Athletic.

The Tractor Boys boss believes that Darren Ambrose is a ‘very good player’ who has the ability to be a ‘match-winner’ for any team that he plays for. Jim Magilton also believes that Darren Ambrose left the club ‘too soon’ after starting his career with Ipswich Town.

Big things were expected of Darren Ambrose when he joined Newcastle United in March 2003 for £1m. However, things have never quite worked out for the 24-year-old. He only made 18 Premier League starts in over two years at St James’ Park and it was no surprise when Charlton Athletic signed him in the summer of 2005.

Darren Ambrose has had his fair share of injury problems at the Valley and even though he is currently part of Alan Pardew plans, perhaps he would welcome a fresh start at the club where it all began.

The ironic thing about Jim Magilton’s expression of interest in the player is that Darren Ambrose is likely to line up against Ipswich Town tonight when Charlton visit Portman Road. It seems that Jim Magilton will get a glimpse at the player that he would like to see back in East Anglia.

If the move does materialise at some point in the future, Darren Ambrose will join Pablo Counago, Tommy Miller and Richard Wright as players that have returned to Ipswich after previously leaving the club.

As for Ipswich’s overall situation, they currently sit 13th in the Championship after a rather inconsistent start to the season. The football odds expect them to push for the play-offs and they will be hoping that the recent victory against Plymouth can be the start of a good run for them. Whether Darren Ambrose will be part of this promotion push come January, remains to be seen.

Greg Halford scored the opening goal for Charlton when he headed in Darren Ambrose’s free-kick past former Charlton goalkeepr, Dean Kiely.

West Brom drew level minutes before half-time when leading scoring Kevin Phillips smashed home his 21st goal of the season from close range.  And they came close to taking all three points when Zoltan Gera struck the bar with a volley in the closing moments.

West Brom and Watford both have a game in hand over Bristol City and Stoke.  If both teams win the game in hand, the top of the Coca-Cola Champioship will be tighter than ever before, with Stoke, Bristol City and Watford all on 67 points and West Brom on 66 points. Championship promotion betting is starting to get really interesting!

Bring it on.

Bristol City are now two points clear of Stoke City, with a game in hand.

Stoke lost 3-0 at QPR, and were already 2-0 down when referee Andy D’Urso sent off Andy Griffin in the 44th minute. Stoke claim D’Urso has admitted the red card was a mistake.

Watford, West Brom and Charlton were the pre-season favourites to be battling it out for automatic promotion. As it stands, they are jostling for play-off places.

Watford lost further ground on the leaders as they could only manage a 2-2 draw at Burnley, while West Brom beat Plymouth with a convincing 3-0 win over Plymouth. And Charlton scored late goals in both halves to win at Sheffield United 2-0.

Before Christmas most pundits were talking down Bristol City as serious contenders for the Championship title, though all agreed they play very attractive ball-to-feet football. But now Christmas has gone and we are in the home straight, and Bristol City are still looking strong.

Can anyone remember the championship odds at the beginning of the season for Bristol City to win the Championship title?